Saturday, April 30, 2016

New work contains some unexpected findings about iron chemistry under high-pressure conditions, such as those likely found in the Earth's core, where iron predominates and creates our planet's life-shielding magnetic field. The results could shed light on Earth's early days when the core was formed through a process called differentiation -- when the denser materials, like iron, sunk inward toward the center, creating the layered composition the planet has today.

Researchers have demonstrated a cheap, effective and environmentally friendly way to sterilize medical implants without changing their properties, in contrast to some techniques. This inexpensive technology could save time and money while effectively sterilizing medical implants, does not require extensive training and produces no waste products.

Chocolate is divinely delicious, mouthwateringly smooth and unfortunately full of fat. But reducing the fat content of the confection makes it harder and less likely to melt in your mouth. That's why scientists are investigating additives that could reinstate chocolate's delightful properties in these lower-fat treats. Now, researchers report an analysis that sheds light on how adding limonene could improve lower-fat versions' texture and ability to melt.

Friday, April 29, 2016

Engineers are using nanoparticle technology in an effort to meet the ever-increasing demand for food. Their innovative technique boosts the growth of a protein-rich bean by improving the way it absorbs nutrients, while reducing the need for fertilizer.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Accidental wastewater spills from unconventional oil production in North Dakota have caused widespread water and soil contamination, a new study finds. Researchers found high levels of contaminants and salt in surface waters polluted by the brine-laden wastewater, which primarily comes from fracked wells. Soil at spill sites was contaminated with radium. At one site, high levels of contaminants were detected in residual waters four years after the spill occurred.

Researchers have developed a one-step, facile method to pattern graphene by using stencil mask and oxygen plasma reactive-ion etching, and subsequent polymer-free direct transfer to flexible substrates.

The fashion industry generates a lot of waste, which is why a team of researchers developed a new fiber that's 100 percent biodegradable. Researchers are testing the fiber – made from a green tea byproduct – to see if it's a viable alternative.

In 1848, Louis Pasteur showed that molecules that are mirror images of each other had exactly opposite rotations of light. When mixed in solution, they cancel the effects of the other, and no rotation of light is observed. Now, a research team has demonstrated that a mixture of mirror-image molecules crystallized in the solid state can be optically active.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Researchers have discovered single-walled carbon nanotube semiconductors could be favorable for photovoltaic systems because they can potentially convert sunlight to electricity or fuels without losing much energy.

A unique rapid-fire electron source -- originally built as a prototype for driving next-generation X-ray lasers -- will help scientists study ultrafast chemical processes and changes in materials at the atomic scale.

While technological advances have made it easier to map our microbiomes and metabolomes, these studies typically take too long for that data to be medically useful. Researchers have now used the 2016 San Diego Fermentation Festival as a test case for a novel rapid response system. The team collected samples, analyzed data and reported conclusions in an unprecedented 48 hours.

Bioreactors are passive filtration systems that can reduce nitrate losses from farm fields. Most bioreactors are simple pits filled with wood chips; bacteria on the wood chips remove 25 to 45 percent of the nitrate in runoff water. New research highlights their potential applications and provides insight into design options.

New research demonstrates that groundwater quality changes alongside the expansion of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing but also suggests that some potentially hazardous effects may dissipate over time.

A new anti-biofilm nano coating has been developed by a team of researchers. Their solution addresses a pervasive need to design environmentally friendly materials to impede dangerous surface bacteria growth, they say, holding potential for averting biofilm formed by surface-anchored bacteria.

The oceans hold more than four billion tons of uranium -- enough to meet global energy needs for the next 10,000 years if only we could capture the element from seawater to fuel nuclear power plants. Major advances in this area have now been made.

Friday, April 22, 2016

A team reports achieving real-time single molecule electronic DNA sequencing at single-base resolution using a protein nanopore array. The work sets the stage for revolutionary, cost-effective genetic diagnostic platforms with unprecedented potential for precision medicine.

A team of researchers has recently discovered a way to improve the recipe for energy storage materials, and make the resulting materials bigger and better and soaking up energy -- the secret? Just add salt.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

By combining two century-old techniques in organic chemistry, chemists are able to make organic compounds with greater ease and precision. Such compounds are important for drug discovery and development.

Scientists have devised a new molecule-building method likely to have a major impact on the pharmaceutical industry and other chemistry-based enterprises. The method allows construction of novel, complex and potentially valuable molecules, starting from a large class of relatively cheap and non-toxic carboxylic acids compounds.

All living things require nitrogen for survival, but the world depends on only two known processes to break nitrogen's ultra-strong bonds to allow conversion to a form humans, animals and plants can consume. One is a natural, bacterial process on which farmers have relied since the dawn of agriculture. The other is the century-old Haber-Bösch process, which revolutionized fertilizer production and spurred unprecedented growth of the global food supply.

Worldwide growing data volumes make conventional electronic processing reach its limits. Future information technology is therefore expected to use light as a medium for quick data transmission also within computer chips. Researchers have now demonstrated that carbon nanotubes are suited for use as on-chip light source for tomorrow's information technology, when nanostructured waveguides are applied to obtain the desired light properties.

Researchers have invented nanowire-based battery material that can be recharged hundreds of thousands of times, moving us closer to a battery that would never require replacement. The breakthrough work could lead to commercial batteries with greatly lengthened lifespans for computers, smartphones, appliances, cars and spacecraft.

Particle atomic layer deposition (p-ALD) is highlighted as a technology that can create new and exciting designer core/shell particles to be used as building blocks for the next generation of complex multifunctional nanocomposites.

A new n-type semiconducting polymer with superior electron mobility and oxidative stability has been developed by researchers. The team modified an n-type conjugated polymer with semi-fluoroalkyl side chains. As a result, the modified polymer was shown to form a superstructure composed of polymer backbone crystals and side-chain crystals, resulting in a high degree of semicrystalline order.

Scientists have developed techniques to treat diabetic foot syndrome with special insoles with silver nano-particles. The techniques help to fight ulcers appearing on feet in diabetic patients, facilitates their healing and disinfection, reducing the risk of amputation.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

To create a more secure and sustainable future we need to use carbon from nature: “biocarbon”; using it to create biodegradable bioplastics, other biochemicals and for renewable energy generation that is available when required. Steambio is a collaboration of eleven partners from industry and academia with a common purpose: to create a viable business based on superheated steam torrefaction of forestry and agricultural residues.

A paper-based biosensor covered with bacteria has been designed to detect water toxicity. This is an innovative and inexpensive biological tool which can be easy to use in economically restricted areas or developing countries.

Chemistry researchers have managed to coax molecules known as tellurazole oxides into assembling themselves into cyclic structures -- a major advance in their field that creates a new and promising set of materials.

Monday, April 18, 2016

By deoxygenating water, researchers discovered a new way to exfoliate phosphorene into atomically thin flakes. In order for phosphorene to reach its full potential, it needs to be incredibly thin -- preferably at the atomic scale. Until now, researchers have experienced difficulties in exfoliating atomically thin flakes from the bulk material, called black phosphorus, in a quick and efficient manner.

By showing that a phenomenon dubbed the 'inverse spin Hall effect' works in several organic semiconductors -- including carbon-60 buckyballs -- physicists changed magnetic 'spin current' into electric current. The efficiency of this new power conversion method isn't yet known, but it might find use in future electronic devices including batteries, solar cells and computers.

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Researchers have developed an ultrathin, ultraflexible, protective layer and demonstrated its use by creating an air-stable, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display. This technology will enable creation of electronic skin (e-skin) displays of blood oxygen level, e-skin heart rate sensors for athletes and many other applications.

Friday, April 15, 2016

Nanoparticles are known to self-assemble at the air-water interface into large 2D sheets. Researchers discovered that an organic coating on the nanoparticles differs slightly between the two sides of the membrane.

By using a photoelectrode in which gold nanoparticles are loaded on an oxide semiconductor substrate, a research has worked to develop a method of artificial photosynthesis that may prove to be an excellent light energy conversion system.